Former UNH hoops staffer could face voyeurism charges in Vt.

DURHAM — Vermont authorities are considering misdemeanor voyeurism charges against the former University of New Hampshire hoops staffer who allegedly filmed UNH basketball players in the locker room.

By Casey Conleycconley@fosters.com

DURHAM — Vermont authorities are considering misdemeanor voyeurism charges against the former University of New Hampshire hoops staffer who allegedly filmed UNH basketball players in the locker room.

Scott Weitzell, 50, of Newmarket, is accused of taking cell phone images of players Jan. 20 when the UNH men's team played the University of Vermont in Burlington. It's not clear whether the alleged misconduct occurred before or after the game.

“I can only say that the incident that occurred here, we are the police agency that would investigate and potentially prepare charges for the Chittenden County state's attorney's office,” UVM Deputy Police Chief Tim Bilodeau said Thursday. “We don't know if that is going to happen yet because the case is under investigation.”

Senior university officials learned of the incident Feb. 20 and fired him Feb. 25.

Weitzell was arrested Feb. 21 at his Newmarket home and charged with felony falsification of evidence and misdemeanor resisting arrest. He allegedly tried to hide the phone from officers with a warrant to seize the device. He was released on $3,000 personal recognizance bail.

Police have gathered additional evidence from subsequent search warrants of his home and office.

Weitzell worked as the part-time UNH director of basketball operations for the past 12 years. Before joining UNH, he was a longtime youth basketball coach in Newmarket. He coached the middle school boy's team from 1983 to 1993 and coached the high school varsity boy's team from 1993 to 2002.

He also served on the town's School Board and other local boards in late 1980s and early 1990s.

Newmarket Police Lt. Kyle True said the department is not aware of any past allegations against Weitzell.

“Obliviously, it is a concern of ours if there are potential victims out there. At this time, we know of no other victims within the town of Newmarket,” he said. “We would encourage anyone with any information to come forward with that information if they believe they know of any victims.”

The allegations against Weitzell came as a surprise to many who knew him, including Norman Langlois, founder of Empire Beauty Schools in New Hampshire.

Weitzell has worked for Langlois for nearly 30 years. Most recently, he was the company's operations manager. His duties including overseeing advertising and promotions.

“He did a good job for us and he's a good man,” said Langlois, who is 88 and spends winters in Florida.

Langlois is aware of the case against Weitzell but said he never saw or heard him exhibit behavior matching the allegations.

Weitzell has since taken a leave from the company. Langlois characterized the leave as an extended planned vacation.

During a news conference Wednesday, UNH officials said they learned about the locker room incident on Feb. 20 from an athletics staffer. Those officials told UNH Police Chief Paul Dean and senior administrators the same day.

Police haven't said how many people Weitzell allegedly filmed. Investigators don't believe any potential victims are under 18. UNH police are continuing to gather evidence and additional charges are possible.

UNH President Mark Huddleston has proposed an independent investigation to determine why a month elapsed between the incident and the initial report to UNH officials.